Headlines

Music would seem an unlikely entry point for algorithms, but they have arrived. In 2004, the New Zealander Ben Novak was just another guitar-strummer songwriter hoping to crack into music with a record deal. On a whim, he paid $50 to upload one of his songs to a website that claimed to have an algorithm capable of finding hits. The algorithm gave Mr. Novak’s song a rare and lofty score, putting it on par with classics such as “Take it Easy” by the Eagles and Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild.”

The algorithm belonged to Mike McCready, who connected Mr. Novak with a label. The single, “Turn Your Car Around,” eventually landed near the top of the European charts.